Taste of Fear
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Four year old Tony experiences an unforgettable day which results in a visit to the emergency room.  This is part of my Fate series.
1. Taking Care of Business

Taking Care of Business

Maria had Tony firmly by the hand as they made their way across the busy parking lot and into the supermarket. He was skipping beside her, prattling about the cookie he was going to obtain once they reached the bakery section, when a gorgeous, leggy blond almost ran into them.

"Oh, goodness, I am so sorry! I wasn't looking- "She held up her hand in apology. "Pardon me!"

Maria smiled and nodded dismissively, but Tony took one look at the attractive woman and spoke up in delight, "Oh, hubba hubba!"

Shocked, the woman turned to regard Tony again. "What did you say?"

Maria scowled down at the little boy, and stammered an apology for him. Tony wilted a bit under Maria's angry expression, poked his lip out in a pout, and protested, "That's what Daddy always says when the lady's pretty, though, Abuela!"

The woman laughed then, and smiled down at Tony. "Well, you cute boy- what's your name, Adorable?"

"Tony and I'm four years old now. This is Abuela. We're going to get a big cookie for me at the bakery section." He pointed towards Maria and smiled his megawatt smile at the attractive stranger.

"Well, four year old Tony, thank you for the sweet compliment. You have made my day." Smiling again, she turned and left, and Maria pulled Tony to the queue of shopping carts.

"Bambino, we must be more careful about what we say around you! Este bebé toma todo lo que decimos! I can not believe what you know. Hold up your arms for me." Tony did, and she swung him into the child seat portion of the cart and steered them into the store. Despite Tony's requests to go immediately to get his cookie, Maria saved the bakery aisle for last. Experience had taught her that she could use the treat as an incentive for good behaviour as they trekked up and down the grocery store aisles. Tony was an enthusiastic shopper, and when he spotted something he wanted, he would insist he had to have it- right that second! He was also extremely social, and initiated conversations with store personnel and other customers alike, which often kept them in the store longer than Maria desired. As Maria saw it, that cookie at the end was the gold medal for Tony, and a tangible acknowledgement to her that she had once again gotten them through a veritable obstacle course.

Tony was fairly cooperative on this excursion though, and they were in and out within a half hour. He nibbled his cookie choice, a gingerbread man, while they checked out. His bites were interspersed with his singsong narration of "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me- I'm the gingerbread man!" from the story he'd been read dozens of times. Customers in the line behind him smiled indulgently, and his love of attention fuelled more expressive narrations.

He helped Maria load the groceries in the trunk of the car, and as they left the parking lot, asked for the dozenth time if it were time for the park. Maria had told him that morning that the day was beautiful and promised that the two of them would spend some of it enjoying a visit to their favourite park. Maria, or Abuela as Tony called her, was not actually Tony's grandmother, but was an integral part of his family. His father, NCIS special agent Jethro Gibbs, knew that she was a treasure, and thanked God on a daily basis that Maria had come into their lives. Her adoration of the little boy was equalled only by the baby's love for her. Tony's mother and sister had been killed, and with the exception of Jackson Gibbs, Jethro's father, there was no other family in the picture. They were blessed with good friends, though- Jethro's former boss, Mike Franks was one. Dr. Mallard (Ducky) and his mother, Victoria Mallard, were two very special others.

As soon as they got home Tony asked again, tugging at Maria's apron, "Abuela mia, when are we going to play at the park? It's time. I was very good at the store, remember? Let's go now and let me play with the other boys and girls. I want to go on the swings now, por favor."

"Bambino, remember that we need to eat a good lunch first, and then take a nap to be rested before the park."

Tony grabbed her hand and argued stuffily, "I don't need a nap, Abuela. I am not tired at all. Let's just go ahead to the park now. I will get your pocketbook for you." He started out of the room to locate her purse and keys.

Maria was busily trying to put up the groceries, but stopped a second to command, "Come here a second, vengan a mi." Tony returned, but then shook his head irritably when she pulled out a tissue, pressed it to his nose, and ordered, "Blow your nose now, Antonio, you have some cold, and it is not good to be stopped up." She held his head so that he couldn't escape, then kissed him when he was finished. "You are my sweet baby boy." Reaching into the refrigerator, she pulled out a juice pouch. "Now, go play in the living room for a while and let me get finished."

Tony, having forgotten the purse, started out but turned around to say slyly, "I will be a very, very good boy if you let me watch cartoons."


	2. Almost There

Almost There

Maria shook her head at his cunning and answered firmly, "Absolutely not- the rule is you do not watch any television during the day. Now, go play for a while. Why don't you get out your cars?"

Tony played well because he was blessed not only with good looks, but with a vivid imagination. By the time Maria came to collect him for lunch he had divided the room into areas for the gas station, home, work and the park, and had his cars lined up as they traversed the route. Maria stood a minute just watching him, and her heart swelled with love for the little being. Tony's green eyes were gorgeous, and compliments of his late mother. He had a megawatt smile, as well, thanks to his father, and his brown hair was flecked with blond streaks and highlights. He was tiny for his age, but the doctors had reassured his father he would be tall as an adult. He had a good sense of humour, was naturally athletic, and possessed an inclination towards analytical thinking. In addition, he was curious, friendly, and loving.

Yes indeed, Maria adored him, and he adored her, as well.

"Let's park your cars, and clean up in here," she smiled, "so that we can go eat our lunch."

She began picking up toys and Tony's lip crept out in a pout. "Abuela, no, leave them. I want to play with all of these after lunch! Voy a jugar otra vez! You are messing up my cars and my village."

"No, after lunch is naptime for you, then when you wake up, we will be going to the park."

"I don't want to clean up my cars!"

It had definitely been a long morning. Tony was sliding into meltdown mode, and Maria ordered sharply, "Now, nieto, you are cleaning up this minute. One..." She held up a finger and Tony regarded her warily, but stayed rooted to his spot. "Two," she displayed two fingers, then spoke calmly, "When I count to three, you know that you will be in trouble then. Do you want to be in trouble now and miss the fun this afternoon?" She paused, and Tony swiftly thought that over, and concluded that he wanted the aforementioned fun. He reversed himself, started gathering his belongings, and dumped them into the supplementary toy basket she kept by the sofa. He had a toy box upstairs, but necessity had forced the inclusion of an additional receptacle downstairs to house Tony's playthings.

Beaming, he ran to her, "I obeyed, Abuela, I am a very good boy, and I need to go to the park."

Laughing, she bent down and kissed him. "You are, yes, my wonderful boy. Come on, I know that your tummy is hungry."

Tony climbed into his Cookie Monster booster seat and waited for Maria to initiate the blessing, then recited it out loud with her. He ate hungrily, and Maria wondered once again, how such a tiny body could eat so much. When lunch was finished, she had him help her clean up, a job he loved. He had a few chores assigned to him by either his daddy or his abuela, and Jethro decided privately that the reason Tony was so cooperative about his responsibilities was because he revelled in the praise heaped on him afterwards, not in the satisfaction of a job well done!

"Come," Maria directed firmly, "let's go upstairs." Tony's face fell tragically and he pushed his lip into a pout. Abuela ignored his reaction. Instead, she took him by the hand and led him up the stairs. He slowed his pace in an effort to stall the inevitable, but she was patient, and eventually, they made it up the flight of steps and to the landing.

"Abuela, I am not sleepy. Look at my eyes- they are not tired. I don't want to take a nap today. Por favor, Abuela, my body is not tired at all!" He started sniffling, and his lip crept out into a more dramatic pout. "Yo no estoy cansado!" Tears beaded his eyelashes when his verbal appeal had no effect.

Maria didn't respond but led him into the bathroom, supervising as he climbed up on his step stool to use the toilet, then washed his hands and brushed his teeth. She made him blow his nose again before she prodded him towards his bedroom.

"Who do you want to sleep with you today, Bambino, doggie or kitty, perro o gato?"

Tony's eyes filled and he tried again to get out of participating in the impending nap. "Gato, but Abuela, I am not sleepy and Gato is not sleepy!" Maria pulled his stuffed cat out of the toybox and picked up Tony, then sat down with him in the rocking chair situated in one corner of the little boy's room. She started rocking slowly, stroking his hair and softly singing him a Spanish lullabye. Tony had the cat clutched in one arm and his other hand fisted and rubbing at his eyes, and was trying his best to escape her grasp and to work up to some more convincing tears.

Maria had put the baby to bed many, many times, and she was patient. He was sound asleep in five minutes and Maria carried him over to his bed and laid him down, pulled off his shoes, covered him, and kissed his cheek. Switching on the baby monitor, she made her way downstairs and clipped the mate to the monitor to her apron pocket.


	3. Playground

Playground

The phone rang minutes later, and she smiled when she saw it was Jethro on the caller i.d. He wanted to tell her he was en route to a crime scene nearly two hours away from Washington, so would probably be late coming home. Maria assured him it was okay, then updated him on Tony and relayed the grocery store's "hubba hubba" incident.

Jethro laughed so hard at that account that he couldn't catch his breath, and when he finally calmed, she scolded, "No, we do not need the bambino talking like this! He is just four years old."

Jethro attempted to sound contrite. "You are correct. I need to start watching what I say around him more." Then he couldn't resist adding, "Tell me this, though, was the hubba hubba a blond, or a brunette, or a redhead?"

Maria had to laugh at that, and they talked another minute before they disconnected.

Mid afternoon found Maria and a well rested Tony at the playground of their favourite park. Tony was jumping up and down with excitement, eager to join the other children enjoying the playground equipment. Maria made him repeat the rule to stay where she could see him, and after insisting he blow his nose again, she released him to play. It took just a couple of minutes before he was front and centre with a group of children. Maria was not surprised. Her Tony was as popular with the boys as he was with the girls. They came to this park the most, and some of these children visited regularly, as well. Tony had established some ties there.

Maria joined the other mothers and caretakers stationed on the benches which lined the perimeter of the playground. Tony checked in every few minutes with an "Abuela, see me do this, verme Abuela!" or "Look, look at what I can do, Abuela!" They had been there nearly a half hour when Tony's group started a game of Follow the Leader. Tony, a born leader, was elected to command their movements. Maria watched him fondly as he marched the little ones to the merry go round, then the swings, up the slide, and last, to the play fort's viewing platform, accessed by a swinging bridge. Tony took them around the route again, then announced that they were going to go faster. They sped through until they reached the bridge again, but then they started running. Maria and a few of the spectators called out warningly to slow down, but it was too late. Tony and the boy behind him, as the first two in the line, were pushed forward as the others rushed. It knocked them off balance, and the boy slammed hard into Tony, who was just stepping onto the fort's platform. Tony lost his footing and plunged over the side, slamming on top of a metal horse bolted to the ground before landing flat on his back.

Maria made it to him before he could even suck in a breath, and when she saw blood, calmly and carefully fell beside him and began feeling for broken bones. As soon as Tony did catch his breath he started screaming in pain, and another parent, who'd responded to the emergency, helped Maria pick him up and rush to get him to the car.

Maria somehow managed to get both Jethro and Ducky phoned on the way to the emergency room, while at the same time doing her best to soothe her shrieking baby. He was screaming non stop with the pain by the time they made it to the hospital, and when they were finally shown to an examination cubicle, she was shaking all over.

The medical attendants allowed Maria to accompany him, but against her wishes, ordered her to sit in the chair on one side of his bed and to stay out of the way. Tony was just a four year old little boy in agony, and he was scared, and he wanted his Abuela to come to him and hold him, and kiss the boo boos, and make them better. He screamed over and over for her, heartbreaking pleas, but the medical personnel ordered her to stay in the background and to let them do their jobs. The nurses were attempting to remove his clothes and put him in a nightgown for the exam but he was screaming and thrashing and refused to allow it. The doctor arrived and he, too, tried to reason with the little boy, but Tony was slinging his head from side to side, his entire body shaking with screams and sobs. Maria wanted to get to her baby as desperately as he wanted her, and witnessing his torment was devastating to her.


	4. Paralyzing Fear and Welcome Relief

Paralyzing Fear and Welcome Relief

It was then, fortunately, that Ducky found them, and assessing the problem immediately, he pulled the doctor to the side and spoke quietly. When Ducky finished speaking, as one medical professional to another, the doctor motioned the nurses to leave with him, and they did, dropping the nightgown on the foot of the bed.

As soon as they vacated the examination area, Maria rushed to the bed. Tony threw up his arms for her to hold him when he saw her and then tried to scramble up by himself to throw himself into her embrace. Ducky turned away, trying to mask his anger at the hospital's medical staff. That would not help Tony. Cuddling the toddler to her, Maria rocked him gently, and kissed him, and soothed him, and finally the screams were replaced by shuddery breaths.

Ducky came over then and began a cursory examination as Maria held him, and Tony stayed calm. Ducky was family, and Ducky was his doctor. Ducky leaned over and patted him gently and explained to him that he had to change clothes, and put the nightgown on for the other doctor's exam. Tony's feelings were crushed. Snuggling himself tighter into his abuela, he wailed his upset. He didn't want to put on something girls wore! He was a big boy! Both Maria and Ducky got him changed after convincing him that the garment was just like the cape that Superman wore.

Stepping to the curtain, Ducky moved it aside and told the nurse that Tony's examination could begin. He had calmed down considerably, but started crying in earnest again when Maria had to put him down on the table. He begged her to take him again, his breath coming in shuddering sobs, holding up his arms and pleading, "Abrazame para, Abuela, hold me!"

This time, though, she shot the nurses a glare and stationed herself where he could see her, and stroked his hair, and his leg, and his arm, and spoke soft words in Spanish, and he cooperated with the doctor's instructions. Ducky and she accompanied Tony when they took him for a CAT scan to make sure that he hadn't suffered a concussion in the accident.

Finally, the doctor pulled Ducky to the side and talked professionally to him, and Ducky went over and whispered to Maria. Unbelievably, there was no concussion and luckily, no bones had been broken. However, there was a cut under his chin which required stitching, along with another on his right thigh. In addition, there was some very bad bruising on the little body. They needed to give him a tetanus shot, along with shots to numb the areas to be sewn, plus something to alleviate the pain.

Maria nodded in understanding, and then leaned down to pick him up off the bed. He wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist and buried his head against her shoulder, as he had done cuddling with her many, many times before. Finally safe, he loosened one hand so that he could stroke Abuela's hair, and he rubbed his face in her shoulder.

Tony stiffened immediately, though, when he felt the nightgown moved aside and an alcohol pad swab his rear. Embarrassed, he started crying hard again, insisting in a mixture of Spanish and English that he didn't want a stranger to see his bottom. These people weren't family and they shouldn't see his bottom or him without clothes. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ducky and Maria exchanged amused glances. Tony frequently ran around the house completely naked, and often, had to be forced into pajamas or clothing. Maria kissed his hair and Ducky assured him that no one except Abuela or he could see Tony's bottom, so it was just family. The nurse handed the hypodermic to Dr. Mallard, and he gave the injection, then while Maria held Tony closely, finished giving the other shots.

The pain medication took effect quickly, and Tony loosened his grip of Maria. She waited a couple of minutes more until she was sure he was almost out before she put him back down on the bed. He was asleep by the time the stitches were finished and the hospital ordeal was at a close. Maria picked him up and gathered their belongings. She started for the car while Ducky got the dismissal papers and prescription.

She had just cleared the exit door when Jethro ran up, obviously panicked, having just made it from the crime scene back to Washington and then to the hospital. His eyes filled when he took in the scene in front of him. His baby boy, held tightly in Maria's arms, was tear stained, bandaged, battered, stitched, bruised, and asleep, and he had to pinch the bridge of his nose to get control of his emotions.

Ducky put his hand on his friend's shoulder and told him to calm down, and then gave him a rundown of the medical procedures. Jethro took Tony from Maria and carried him gingerly to the car, and then from the car to the house, and to the little boy's bed, when they got home. Tony was still sound asleep, and Maria got a washcloth and cleaned all the dirt from the park off of him, then stripped him of the hated nightgown and put him in his pajamas.

Maria explained in detail what transpired in the park to the men and Ducky gave Gibbs a rundown of the emergency room activities. They talked a while longer, then Ducky excused himself and left, promising to check on Tony in the morning.

Finally, Jethro and Maria were satisfied that Tony was ok, and they slipped out of the room, double checking that they had activated the baby monitor. Both were afraid that Tony would awake scared from the ordeal, or hurting and in bad pain. The taste of fear they'd experienced could not possibly compare to the fear Tony had faced. It had been a long, emotionally upsetting day.

Maria went to the kitchen to start supper, while Jethro settled in the living room. Tony slept until six, then they heard him begin to move around restlessly. Maria stood at the living room door, waiting to see if Tony waked completely, while Jethro waited at the foot of the stairs. Hearing the bed shift and move as Tony climbed off, Jethro started up and met him as his little feet pattered to the top landing.

Tony was clutching his stuffed cat and rubbing his eyes.

Focusing on his father and abuela, he gave them a stunning smile. "Gato and I had a good night's sleep, and we're ready for breakfast now."

The adults laughed out loud with relief and Tony grinned in response, certain that he'd said something extraordinarily cute.


End file.
